You Know That Time They Got Married?
by SCWLC
Summary: This is kind of a total descent into shallow 'shipping. It's Katara/Zuko. And . . . well . . . weddings. AU. So shallow.
1. That time they got married

Title: That Time that Katara and Zuko got Married  
>Author: SCWLC<br>Disclaimer: You know the drill, I own nothing here, I'm making no money from it either.  
>Rating: TPG maybe as low as a K+/G  
>Summary: See the title?<br>Notes: I have many of these. Firstly, my theory here is that, of the various cultural groups of the world of Avatar, the Earth Kingdom could be the least homogenous. Think about Asia. There's Russia to the north, China, Japan, Korea to the East, India, Pakistan in the south, the Middle East in the Western part of Asia. My point is, While the Water Tribes and Fire Nation are relatively small territories in relatively isolated populations, allowing for a creation of a homogenous group, the Earth Kingdom is a lot more like the major continents as we think of them. So, I feel it's not implausible that there could be such a wide variation in culture, rather than everything there being essentially being far eastern.

Thus, my sourcing for this is somewhat varied. The group of priestesses I made up, using the Japanese Yuki-onna as the foundation of the concept. It's a spirit usually associated with death by cold. The Racapycoonbaras come from three things. 1) Racoons 2) Capybaras 3) The fact that the more syllables a word has, the more I like it. The concept of a heffalump I owe to Winnie the Pooh. Yes, I know that it's not Avatarish, but how could you turn that down? The bulk of the marriage ceremony itself was contrived out of information from a website called Worldly Weddings. The vows come from two sections of the same website, Documents and Designs. Katara's is the Eskimo Love Song, the one Zuko winds up saying is entitled Oath of Friendship. Last but not least, Katara is in an Indian choli, not one that I've seen, but simply one I made up referencing various pictures from Google, and Zuko is in an African dashiki.

Okay, this fic is also set in something of an AU. I'm going with the presumption, again, that each season was a year, rather than a few months, so they're all old enough to get married without any weirdness. Lastly, this is part one of a three-part series of fics. I'm not going to tell you more than that, now, but I expect the themes will become rather clear by the second fic.

And now, on to the actual story part of things.

* * *

><p>It had been a victory for them, driving the Fire Nation soldiers away from the small group of towns filled with masses of refugees from all over the Earth Kingdoms. For Katara, Sokka, Suki and Zuko the myriad people with their rainbow of different colours, styles and kinds of clothing and an equal rainbow of skin colours the sight was a little stunning. Less so after Ba Sing Se, but compared to the relatively homogenous peoples of Water, Kyoshi and Fire, it felt rather strange.<p>

Still, Katara didn't let it stop her from pulling Zuko into the midst of the revellers. It took a little time, but soon enough she had him dancing with her, showing a surprising amount of talent for an activity that was actively banned in his home nation.

Eventually however, Zuko dragged Katara out of the crowd and into the dark outside of the village square. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the necklace he'd worked so very hard on. "Katara," he said, "I . . ." His nerves overwhelmed him and he trailed off.

She cupped his face in her hands, smiling, and said, "You can tell me anything Zuko. You know that."

That tore it. Zuko nerved himself up and just asked. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. "Katara, marry me?" He thrust the necklace he'd made for her in the style of the Water Tribes at her. She just stared at it, looking a little confused. He started to sweat. Was it ugly? Was she going to say no? "What's wrong?" he blurted out. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "You don't _have_ to wear it if you don't want to take your mother's necklace off-"

"Who told you about necklaces being engagement . . . things?" she asked.

"Uncle," Zuko said. "When I had yours, Uncle said that it was something a man made for the girl he wants to marry."

She blinked, took it from his hand and looked at it closely. He'd spent a long time on it, finding a dark red stone that was just right, carving the symbol of the Water Tribes into it and burning his fingertips as he carefully melted silver into the crevices made by the carving so it would stand out, then adding in the symbol of the Fire Nation and getting glass mixed with white and blue pigments melted smoothly into that so that the two symbols seemed entwined on the dark red background. "It's beautiful," Katara told him, sounding awed. "And yes, I'll marry you."

Then she kissed him, and Zuko felt like his heart would explode out of his chest he was so happy. When they pulled away, she told him, "There's just one little problem."

"What is it?" he asked, worried. Had he done something wrong? Were the symbols wrong? Had he-

"Giving a necklace is an engagement practice in the Northern Water Tribe. In the Southern Water Tribe, when a man wants to marry a woman, he offers her something useful. Usually pelts or maybe a knife with a metal blade. Something useful but difficult to get."

"What?" Zuko's jaw dropped. "I . . . I could get you something else," he said, feeling a little frantic.

She shook her head at him, looking amused. "Don't worry Zuko. It's fine. I can tell how hard you worked on that. And unless the Fire Nation proposes with necklaces too, I'm so happy that you were making sure to include Water tradition when you proposed." Before he could say anything else, she'd taken off her mother's necklace, wrapped the band twice around a wrist and fastened it before putting on the one Zuko had made her. Red was very much her colour.

He flushed. "I did get engagement combs for you when we were back in the Fire Nation." He pulled them out and handed the package to her. "I just didn't feel right without them."

Katara opened up the paper and stared at the combs. They were works of art. Carved from ebony, they were lacquered and inlaid with other kinds of wood, forming a backdrop to the tiny gemstones winking from the eyes and feathers of tiny little birds and the petals and leaves of entwined tiny little flowers. The decorations were so small, so delicate, Katara was sure she could never cease to find new things in them. And yet the combs fit neatly into her hands. They weren't heavy in the slightest, but staring at them, Katara had no idea how anyone could have done such work on such a small scale. "Zuko, this is . . . I can't accept this," she said, shoving it at him. She was just a girl from the South Pole. Girls from the South Pole didn't get to wear jewellery that probably cost more than Sokka's space sword was worth.

"Why not?" Zuko demanded.

"Because it's too expensive and I'll break them or lose them or something," Katara explained. She watched as Zuko seemed to sag in relief.

Her assumption that he was grateful she wouldn't accidentally destroy his beautiful investment was shattered as he said, "So you're not saying no, you just think that you're too clumsy to wear them." Before she could reply to that vaguely insulting statement, he'd grabbed her hair, twisted it into some strange configuration and jammed the combs into it. "You're not that clumsy and they're not too expensive," he told her. "My mother's combs were made of pure gold, inlaid with silver, and with real gems for the eyes. This is just wood, and those are only semi-precious stones."

"It's ebony," Katara told him, "And don't pretend that's cheap. Anyhow, the craftwork alone on this is mmph!" She was cut off by Zuko kissing her. She tried again when he pulled away. "Zuko, work like this doesn't come cheap and-"

Another kiss. Then he dragged her out into the square, and over to where Toph had egged Sokka into getting drunk, and Suki was grinning in a way that made Katara grateful the village had offered them separate accommodations from each other so she wouldn't have to listen. Aang, watching the whole thing with every appearance of being simultaneously amused and disturbed, was the first to notice. "Katara!" he exclaimed. "Did you . . ." He turned to Zuko. "Did you ask her to marry you?" He turned back to Katara without waiting for a reply. "Did you say yes?"

"Yes, and yes," she told her friend. "Do you like the necklace? Zuko made it himself!"

Aang blinked, then said, "Uh . . . yeah, it's great." He looked a little embarrassed as he admitted, "Actually, I noticed the combs first."

"Combs?" Suki inquired.

Katara shrugged, but obligingly leaned over so Suki could get a better look at them. "Zuko says that they give combs as engagement pieces in the Fire Nation and that he didn't feel like he'd actually proposed if he didn't give me any."

"They're gorgeous," Suki said. "Of course, on Kyoshi, if you want to marry one of the warriors, you have to gift her with new fans."

Nodding, Katara settled in beside her. "In the Southern Water Tribe, the man is supposed to bring pelts or something else useful and rare to prove he's a good provider." She smiled. "Of course, Zuko's a firebender, so he's better than any pelts. He can act like heated rocks, _and_ be snuggly at the same time. He's kind of a good provider like that without any other stuff."

Toph, having tired of playing with Sokka, came over. "What's up, Sweetness?"

"Zuko proposed," Katara told her with a big grin on her face.

Toph's eyes narrowed a little, then she frowned. "Where the ring?" she asked. "There's isn't any rock or metal anywhere on your hands."

"Why would I give Katara a ring?" Zuko asked, frowning in confusion. "I'm asking her to marry me, not handing her over to the priestesses of Yukionna."

"Huh?" Toph asked.

Zuko sighed. "By wearing a metal ring, the priestesses are showing that they have given up the flame that defines the Fire Nation in favour of the goddess of ice and snow as they pray to intercede on behalf of the people who live on the mountains where it gets cold enough for the weather to kill."

The Earth Kingdom girl frowned. "But, when you get engaged the man gives the girl and engagement ring. The more decorative and beautiful the stones the better. You're proving your worth as a bender if you can find the really good stuff in the ground."

"And in the Fire Nation, wearing a ring that your own bending could wind up causing you to be permanently maimed isn't really the way to go," Zuko replied. "I got Katara combs."

"Let me," Katara started, reaching for her hair to hand them to Toph. Zuko lightly rapped her knuckles. "Ow!"

"Don't you take those out," Zuko told her. "I want to see my wife-to-be _wearing_ her combs, thank you."

"What!" Sokka squawked, having joined the group. "What're you . . . Katara! Where's your necklace!"

She rolled her eyes. "Mom's necklace is right here, Sokka," she told him, holding out her hand to show him the blue necklace wrapped around her wrist.

"Then what's that around your neck?" he demanded. "It looks like an engagement necklace." He leaned very far over, and if he hadn't been her brother, Katara might have assumed he was trying to look down her top. Instead, it was very apparent Sokka was quite sloshed, and was leaning the way he was because he was trying to squint at her jewellery without falling over at the same time.

"It _is_ an engagement necklace," Katara told him with a sigh. "Zuko made it for me, and I'm wearing it because we're engaged now."

"What!" Sokka shrieked in her ear.

"Ow," Katara said, rubbing that ear.

Sokka launched himself in a sozzled sort of way at Zuko, planning to pummel the other young man for daring to treat Katara like a _girl_ instead of a nun. While they rolled around, Katara just rolled her eyes and showed offer her new necklace and the combs for Toph, who gave her approval of the rock around Katara's neck, and then joined her and Suki in talking about possibilities for weddings. Aang crept off, wanting to deal with neither the girly stuff, nor Sokka and Zuko's . . . dispute. After all, there were racapycoonbaras with their black and white masks, ringed tails and generous size for rodents. They were, as was their wont, raiding the trash, but that didn't matter to Aang. They were adorable.

The girls had been trading stories and wedding traditions for a few minutes, when one of the older women of the village broke away from the celebrating. "You're getting married?" exclaimed the woman in delight.

Katara blushed. "Yes. Zuko, my boy – fiance," she corrected herself with a smile, "Just proposed." She grinned. "He gave me Fire Nation engagement combs _and_ a Water Tribe engagement necklace."

"So when are you planning on having the ceremony?" the woman asked.

"I . . . we hadn't really discussed anything yet," Katara told her.

"Then why don't you both do it now," she suggested.

Suki smiled. "That's a great idea, Katara!" she said.

"Well . . ."

"Yeah!" Toph added. "I mean, if you put it off for too long, there's no telling what Sokka will try to keep it from happening."

"Zuko . . ."

Somehow, several other women had crept up on them. "The dress my daughter got to get married in, until she decided to have a ceremony in the Omashu region with her husband, is still in my house," piped up one. She was as dark-skinned as Katara, but her hair was a thick black rope and her dress appeared to be a length of cloth that just wrapped around her to drape in an effortlessly beautiful fashion.

Another woman, this one very dark-skinned, and dressed in clothes that were patterned in bright browns, oranges and greens that somehow came together in harmony and wearing a sort of turban said, "My husband is a priest, I am quite sure he would be happy to do a wedding ceremony."

On a chorus of agreement, Katara was swept off, and was vaguely aware that Zuko was being carted off by another group of women. She found herself inside the house of the woman with the wedding dress. What was brought out was a glory of silky green fabric in a long and draped skirt, with complex embroidery in yellow thread that weighed down the bottom of the skirt, and formed sinuous patterns up the skirt, thinning as it crept up the fabric, only to form a solid mass of stitchery at the top, which sat low on the hips. Making the whole thing heavier were gold-coloured glass beads. The top was relatively small, leaving Katara's waist bare.

A moment later she found out why, as the woman began layering complex gold-coloured jewellery over her waist. It was like a sort of decorative chain and belt, and Katara stared into her reflection as the layers of bracelets, chains and decorative bangles transformed her into something completely exotic.

Suki was cheerfully helping the women with holding and pinning the dress, to make sure it fit properly while Toph cracked wise and let the women stuff her into a nice formal gown for the ceremony.

By the time they all emerged, the town square had been transformed from the scene of a celebration of victory over the Fire Nation and into a wedding. At one side of the square, one of the women was insistent that they needed a heffalump for Katara to ride on. "It is not a proper wedding if the bride does not come in on a heffalump," she insisted.

"Would Appa do?" Aang inquired. He had managed to clean up and was zipping about putting up lanterns, flowers and streamers someone had found in a chest somewhere. In the centre of the clearing there was a dark-skinned man with a friendly smile. Zuko stood next to him, looking as handsome as always in his exotic clothing. The cut of the shirt and trousers was simple and loose, but the complex patterns embroidered into the green fabric in shades of gold, white, blue, brown, orange and black gave it a vibrant life and Katara felt a little homesick for a moment as the shape and decorations reminded her of her father's old costume he kept for celebrations.

She started towards Zuko, but found herself being towed to Appa by the woman who had been saying something about heffalumps before. "You will enter on the back of the . . . uh . . ."

"Appa?" Katara suggested.

"Yes," the woman told her with some determination. She decided not to argue the point. Sokka was looking a little woozy, and as Katara watched, the village herbalist pinched his nose, tilted his head back like a recalcitrant bear dog pup and made him swallow something. As Katara watched Sokka seemed to both sober up and go into shock at the same time from the treatment.

Appa strolled up to where the makeshift altar had been set up, and then knelt, letting Katara walk down his tail. When she got off, she saw Zuko's eyes widen and a goofy grin crossed his face. Dimly she heard Sokka saying something about Zuko and amorality, but that was muffled by a sudden shift in the earth. "Thanks Toph."

"No problem, Sugar Queen."

Katara got to Zuko, who was still looking pretty goofy. "You look amazing," he told her. "So beautiful."

"You look pretty handsome yourself, Zuko."

The man at the front said, "My name is Chinua, and I welcome you all to the wedding of Katara of the Southern Water Tribe and Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. This wedding represents in so many ways all the ideals of marriage. The union of two different people into one, to families into one and the overcoming of those differences."

He reached in front of him and took a cloth off of the altar, which had been covering up four small dishes. "All marriages, and I speak from personal experience, are a mix. They are the heat of anger," he said, and held up a small spoon. "To remind you both that your marriage will have fights and anger." Katara braced herself, and tasted the hot pepper. He eyes instantly began to water, and she noted with some resentment that Zuko was actually sucking on the spoon to get the last traces of the pepper. "Next, to remind you of the sourness of disharmony in the home." This spoonful was incredibly sour, but after a moment Katara got used to it and decided she rather liked the intense flavour. Zuko looked like he was trying not to spit. Katara grinned at him, the sourness having briefly chased away the burning. Then Chinua held up the next spoonful. "The bitterness of disagreement that must be watched for so it does not overwhelm the other parts of marriage." This was quite possibly the worst yet.

Katara couldn't help herself. "What _is_ that?"

Behind her, Toph said, "Sparky's tea. I'd been saving it for a special occasion."

"It's just hot leaf juice," Zuko muttered. "I don't get it."

"But seriously," Katara asked him, staring, "How did you mess that up?"

"I don't know!"

Chinua cleared his throat. "Sorry," they chorused.

"Lastly," he said, giving them amused but stern looks, "The sweetness that overcomes the others if only you take care and let it blossom." This last spoonful was simple honey. Zuko stared as Katara licked off the spoon and tried very hard not to think about other places her tongue could be.

"Now you must speak you vows," the man said.

"Vows?" Zuko asked. "I . . . we . . . I mean, what do you mean?"

He watched as his almost-not-quite-yet-wife sighed, and said, "I'll go first." She smiled, and Zuko completely forgot he was supposed to be thinking of something to say.

"You are my husband  
>My feet shall run because of you<br>My feet dance because of you  
>My heart shall beat because of you<br>My eyes see because of you  
>My mind thinks because of you<br>And I shall love because of you.

This declared before the Spirits,

We are as Tui and La,

Two and separate,

Forever one."

It was beautiful and Zuko panicked. _What was he supposed to say in response to that?_ Suddenly, from behind him, he heard Aang hissing his name. It took the monk two tries to get Zuko to realise Aang was thinking on his feet for him, but he didn't care because he had something to say.

"I want to be your friend

For ever and ever without break or decay.

When the hills are all flat

And the rivers are all dry,

When it lightens and thunders in winter,

When it rains and snows in summer,

When Heaven and Earth mingle  
>Not 'til then will I part from you."<p>

"Oh, Zuko," Katara said, leaning in.

Chinua interposed between them. "Almost there," he said with a quick grin. He picked up the last item on the table, a piece of soft rope which he twined around their wrists in an intricate knot. "They have spoken their vows before witnesses and the spirits. They are bound together in the sight of all here." He turned back to the pair. "Now you two can kiss."

He didn't need to be told twice. Zuko pulled Katara against him, ignoring the slightly awkward quality of having their hands tied together and kissed her for all he was worth.

The party lasted late into the night, but they finally got a brief moment to themselves, and Zuko asked, "How did you come up with that . . . vow so fast?"

She blinked. "It's the traditional wedding vow of the Southern Tribe. Isn't that the vow of the Fire Nation that you said?"

He shook his head. "We don't have vows. There's just bowing before a sage and a tea ceremony. I mean, for the actual marriage ceremony part."

"You made that up on the spot?" Katara said looking delighted. He was tempted to let her think he was that brilliant, but he knew it would just cause problems later.

"Aang prompted me. Line by line," he confessed. "I had no idea what to say, so I just said whatever he did."

Which was when their moment alone ended again. "I should have had you promise to feed Momo nothing but moon peaches for the rest of his life," Aang said with a mischievous grin. "I bet you would have said it too."

"He should have," Toph agreed.

Katara smiled at Aang. "Well, I'm glad you didn't. I'd hate to have to start my marriage by threatening my new husband if he ever does anything like that again."

Zuko considered defending himself, but decided he'd keep the peace that night by agreeing with her. They could argue the next day.

Tonight, they'd celebrate.

"Zuko, stop leering like that, the reception isn't over yet."


	2. That other time they got married

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I own nothing here, I'm making no money from it either.  
>Notes: So, first, I want to complain the the internet hates me and my research into Inuit culture. However, I found some few things. First, and amauti is a type of coat, so I know that it's redundant to write coat after it, kind of like writing a parka coat. However, for people who don't read notes and don't know that amautiks are coats, it saves trouble. Most of the useful information I found clothing-wise was from a website called Canada's First Peoples. Some better pictures of decorated amautiks are to be found on the Winnipeg Art Gallery website of a display of Inuit artworks.<p>

* * *

><p>With the war over, the Fire Nation stabilised and under the guiding hand of Iroh while Zuko took some time off, Katara and Zuko made their way to the Southern Water Tribe to speak to Katara's family and tribe about the fact that she was married. They were fairly sure it was going to be a surprise.<p>

They stepped off the boat and there was a lot of surprise. From Katara and Zuko. "Bato?" Katara said, sounding a little stunned as she approached the tribesman deeply involved in a kiss with a black-haired woman. "I . . ."

She trailed off as the man stepped back and revealed the woman he was kissing.

"Mother?" Zuko squawked.

"Zuko?" she breathed. "Zuko!" Then they were hugging and Katara was smiling. At least, until she noticed the armband on Bato and shook her head in disbelief.

"I thought you told Dad that time that you were never marrying anyone because there were too many single women who would be too sad at losing you," she said dryly.

Bato, however, was gaping. "Uza has a son?" He looked a little sick.

Katara giggled at the look on his face. "Uza, as you know her, is the Dowager Fire Lady."

The older man who was like an uncle to her looked utterly stunned. "My wife is . . ." he trailed off, clearly unable to say it.

Enjoying his discomfort probably more than she ought to, Katara added, "Your new step-son is the Fire Lord," she told him.

Zuko meanwhile was simply luxuriating in the joy of seeing his mother was well. At least, she seemed well. "Are you . . . well?" he asked hesitantly, once they'd separated enough to look at each other.

She smiled at the words. "Yes, Zuko. I am well." Then the smile broadened more. "You're so handsome!" she exclaimed, cupping his face in her hands. "And I'm so glad you're doing so well."

Looking around, Zuko asked, "How did you wind up at the Southern Water Tribe?"

She laughed a little. "I only just got here, actually," she told him. "Bato, my new husband, said he wanted to get married with the tribes as well as in the village we met in, in the Earth Kingdom. Since this is his home anyhow, here I am."

A little suspiciously, Zuko asked her, "Did he give you that speech about not being really married?"

"Bato did say something about not feeling like he was properly married until he had a ceremony at home," she admitted, flushing a little.

Katara approached, followed by the man, Bato, who looked a little apprehensive. "Lady Ursa," Katara said, bowing formally.

The former Fire Lady smiled at her and said, "There is no need for such formality. Bato assures me that among the tribes we all might as well be family."

When Katara took in a shaky breath, Zuko realised she was as nervous about meeting his mother and he was about meeting her grandmother and tribe. He went to her side, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "There's no need to be that nervous," he told her. "At least you never invaded mother's home and manhandled her."

Katara lost the nervous look and patted Zuko's arm. "You don't need to worry about Gran. I'm sure she'll forgive you for that."

"What?" chorused the older couple.

"Zuko?" his mother asked.

Ursa's questioning tone, however, brought Katara back to her original nerves. "You said, Lady Ursa, that there was no need for formality, but I wouldn't want to risk making a bad first impression on meeting my mother-in-law."

"Your . . ." Ursa paused, then understood. "Zuko! You're married!" she exclaimed. She whirled on Katara. "Let me get a look at my daughter-in-law," she said. She shook her head. "All those beautiful curves. I always wanted a bosom like that."

"Really?" Katara said hesitantly. "The boys at the Northern Tribe kept saying I was scrawny."

"Piffle," Ursa told her. "You're perfectly proportioned. Now, you absolutely must tell me how you met my son."

Zuko said, rather absently, to Bato, "I don't remember her being that . . . open, when I was a child."

"Katara's like my _niece_," Bato agreed, tacitly. They followed after the two women.

The meeting with Kanna was absolutely traumatic for Zuko. She looked him over like a buyer at an ostrich-horse auction while Water Master Pakku made snide comments. Hakoda just sat there, apparently trying to reconcile the Katara in front of him with his daughter. Then, much to Zuko's discomfiture, she, Katara and his mother sat down for three generations' worth of womanly gossip that drove the four men out of the ice home where Kanna lived and down the street that hadn't been there the last time either Bato or Zuko had been in the South Pole, and into a tavern that Zuko was particularly grateful for.

"It's changed so much," Bato commented.

Zuko nodded. "I know. There was nothing here but some igloos and fur tents the last time I was here."

Pakku frowned at him. "What I want to know, is what is Kanna talking about when she and Katara speak of your previous trip and manhandling her?"

So Zuko sighed and told them the whole story of his hunt for the Avatar, for Bato's benefit, and then endured Pakku's scathing commentary on his wits. It was actually somewhat odd to be receiving his father-in-law's halfhearted support against the waterbender. Not for the first time, Zuko was grateful that his first meeting with Hakoda had been while he and Sokka were rescuing the man. They made their way back to Kanna and Pakku's home, to the news that the ladies had unilaterally decided that since Zuko, Katara, Ursa and Bato were all going to have second ceremonies to include the tribe, they might as well have them at the same time.

Zuko and Bato exchanged mildly horrified looks. "At the same time?" they chorused.

"I know!" Katara declared gleefully. "A double wedding, how amazing is that?"

The next several months were a whirlwind of activity as Katara, Ursa and Zuko had to have brand new Water Tribe finery made up, plans for Chief Arnook and a large contingent of Northern Tribesmen had to make their way to the South Pole for the wedding of the only female bending master in the tribes, as did Suki and his uncle (whom Zuko had _not_ told of his mother's presence and impending marriage as a revenge for all the years of driving his nephew batty with aggravation), not to mention messages to Aang and Toph had to be sent. Aang agreed to come, Toph declared that she'd been at Katara's wedding during the war and wasn't going to spend a week blind on the ice for anyone.

Also, according to Southern Water Tribe traditions, a husband had to provide a dowry to the bride's family to make up for the significant loss in terms of useful womanpower. That is, with Katara no longer in her father's house, so to speak, she could no longer do laundry, clean, cook, take care of imaginary younger siblings and all those other things. A family would have to arrange for some means of replacing that labour.

That was the real reason. The reason everyone gave Zuko was that he had to prove his generosity and capability as a provider. If he could provide generously to Hakoda and still feel he could afford the extra mouth to feed in a wife, he would have proved himself.

Of course, with Kanna as the family matriarch, she got special considerations and Zuko's first impulse, to give Kanna a lot of gold and to tell her to buy whatever she wanted from whatever merchant ships came through, was soundly rebuffed. In fact, until Katara learned that Zuko had done this as gifting for everyone he ever knew except her, he was thrown out of her bed for lack of respect for her family. Once Katara knew his solution to giftgiving was to throw money at it, including his uncle, he got soundly lectured on the fine art of giftgiving.

In the end, he took the expedient of giving Pakku a lot of money and telling the man to purchase Kanna something appropriate that she'd like on Zuko's behalf, allow Zuko to present to it her and what bribes did he want not to tell Katara?

Finally, however, the big day arrived and Zuko felt distinctly discommoded by the Water Tribe formal wear, which was quite attractive in its way, but didn't _feel_ like formalwear to the Fire Lord.

Katara, however, was happily putting on the soft sealskin pants and formal overdress she would wear beneath her wedding amautik coat, with its ceremonial hood to represent all the children she would have to carry within it. Heavily beaded on the front with stylised depictions of tiger seals, bear dogs and waves, it was a testament to hours of hard work stitching each individual bead into place. Across from her, in a startling red amautik coat, beaded into patterns of royal dragons, was Ursa. She had done it all herself, and while the other women of the tribe felt a little nervous at so much of such an ill-omened colour, Katara just thought it looked quite pretty.

She also had learned that she adored Zuko's mother, and the fact that Ursa had chosen to permanently move to the South Pole with Bato just meant that Katara was guaranteed the chance to go home often, as she knew that Zuko would want to see his mother as often as she wanted to see her father and gran.

"Are you ready?" she asked the older woman.

Ursa smiled at her. "Never more ready."

The once-village, now town, was decorated with ice sculptures and decorations, dye having been added to the ice in many cases to create brilliantly coloured decorations that spiralled over and around the square, the houses and changed the shade of the snow beneath them as the sunlight shone through the ice.

Katara had helped some with the decorations, but Yugoda had sent her away, insisting that it was not the bride's place to make those, but those of other waterbenders of the tribe. It was her first view of them, and it was breathtaking.

Zuko meanwhile, had been worried the whole production would be as stark white as the South Pole, and was somewhat relieved when he emerged to the brilliant colours of the ice sculptures. Preceded by Bato and his mother, they walked down the clear centre of the square to where Hakoda stood, looking sternly at Zuko.

When Bato and Ursa stood before him, however, Hakoda's stern mien melted away into an amused grin. "We have gathered today to see a man break his vows to remain single forever-" he started.

"At least I never promised eternal vengeance on my future wife for stealing my dolly," retorted Bato.

Hakoda's eyes narrowed. "It was a warrior figure, and it was gifted to me at the solstice by my grandfather, and she used it for tinder," groused the Chief. "So don't you even start. Don't think I don't know where yours is," he warned his best friend.

Zuko heard himself making a strangled sound.

"I told you Sokka was just like Dad," Katara muttered in his ear.

"I thought weddings were supposed to be sort of dignified," he muttered back.

"Like our last one?" she asked him pointedly.

The former Fire Lady and her new husband finished exchanging vows and were now buried in an enthusiastic crowd, including Bato's mother, who had so long ago given up on her son being married that she apparently didn't care _who_ he married anymore.

Now it was their turn. The crowd slowly hushed and Zuko and Katara faced Hakoda. "Katara," said her father. "I'll miss you, puppy-seal." He took a deep breath and turned back to the crowd. "Today I give my daughter away to her new husband. Speak your vows," he said.

They exchanged the vows he had first heard all those months ago when they married in the Earth Kingdom ceremony, and then they kissed and the party started.

Zuko was in the midst of negotiating visiting times and dates for Bato and his mother to come to the Fire Nation to visit, and for him and Katara to return to the Southern Tribe to visit there, when Iroh joined them. "I am disappointed, Nephew, that you did not warn me that your mother had been found," his uncle said reprovingly.

Katara suddenly joined them, slipping her hands around Zuko's waist from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder. Zuko turned around, noting she'd had to stand on her toes to do it, and pulled her in front so he could trade places with her and rest his chin on her shoulder from behind. "Zuko's just doing it because he wanted revenge on you for annoying him while he was looking for Aang when he was in exile."

"Katara! I told you that in confidence," Zuko grumbled. Suddenly he paused. "Mother, I kept wondering, but I never had the chance. When did you or father have the chance to annul your marriage?"

His mother shrugged. "He rousted out a sage the last night I was at the palace and had it done before dawn and before I was formally exiled."

Bato looked outraged. "He was able to end the marriage with his wife so easily?"

"Well, she _had_ just murdered the old Fire Lord," Katara said practically. "It can't be that hard after that."

"What?" said Bato.

Iroh nodded. "It would only be logical. She put my brother on the throne to spare my nephew's life."

"So-" Bato started, but Ursa pulled his head down, murmuring into his ear. In short order a look of understanding crossed his face and he smiled at her, kissed her tenderly and promised he'd never force her to make a decision like that again.

Iroh waited patiently until Ursa and Bato were finished before saying, "I must tell you all, however, that the Fire Nation's sages have declared that they will not consider Zuko and Katara's marriage valid until they have had a wedding in our own traditions." He turned to Ursa. "I would ask therefore, that you return to the Fire Nation in order to assist in planning and the ceremony."

"Another wedding?" chorused the younger couple. Katara looked baffled. Zuko, in spite of himself smiled a little. He might finally feel like he was properly married if they did that. And he'd had to go through Katara's Tribal wedding. She might as well go through a Fire Nation one.

Ursa clapped her hands in delight. "Katara, I cannot wait to speak with the royal tailors about fitting you with a cheongsam."

"Another wedding?" asked Katara again as his mother began selling her on the advantages to wearing Fire Nation formalwear.

Zuko turned to Iroh and said, "How do you propose we handle the entry to the palace? I was thinking that Bato would have to symbolically take at least part of Father's place in the ceremony."

"Zuko!" his uncle said in a tone that was equal parts disapproval and amusement. "Do you wish to scandalise your people?"

He looked at his bride, picturing her in the tight red dress she would wear for their wedding, instead of the bulky, if attractive, amautik she was wearing then, said, "I think they're already scandalised."

"I think it would be worse to have you declaring your new stepfather to be only slightly lower in rank to your lady mother," Iroh said reprovingly.

"But think about the look on General Pau face," he protested.

Kanna joined them with a disapproving look on her face. "Why are you three over here talking about generals?" she demanded. "I want to see my granddaughter and new grandson . . . dancing right now. I expect great-grandchildren out of tonight. Are we clear?" she declared.

"Yes, Lady Kanna," Zuko said obediently.

As he started towards his bride, she shouted after him, "And by dancing, I mean necking!"

Suddenly Zuko was particularly grateful for the cold that had caused his face to be flushed. It hid his embarassment nicely. Then Katara insisted on necking in the middle of the dance floor and he decided not to worry about it. Instead he thought about Katara and Very Tight Red Dresses.


	3. So, that other, other time they

Title: So, That Other Other Time They Got Married

Author: SCWLC

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: For the third, and hopefully last time, Zuko and Katara get married.

Rating: PG

Notes: So, I recycled the format for the wedding from my Proposal series, (which can be found on my author page, in order, all fourteen individual fics), but put in different jokes. Now that this one is done, I will finally move on to other AtLA projects. Many thanks to all my friends who put up with me bouncing ideas off them for this series.

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><p>This stank. It was possibly the worst week of her life, and the fact that it was happening right before her wedding was very suspicious. She turned to her mother-in-law and asked, "Do they make you not eat anything for the week before so that you'll be so happy at finally having food you remember it as the best day of your life?"<p>

Ursa just rolled her eyes at Katara. "It's a matter of purification. You're supposed to become the balance to the Fire Lord. Since he is supposed to be utterly consumed with earthly affairs and the moment, you are supposed to go through a period of cleansing to bring you as close to your spiritual centre as possible."

Katara stared at the little bitty ball of rice on her plate and the single wilted piece of bok choy. "I'm going to be close to starvation," she complained. This was lunch. She'd only had rice and water for breakfast. Dinner would be a little more substantial, but she'd eaten better fighting with Sokka over whatever scraps they could muster while travelling with Aang in the Earth Kingdom. It had been six days of this. Six long, hungry, awful days. If Sokka hadn't snuck her meat every night, she was pretty sure she'd have gone on a rampage by the third day in search of more food.

"Oh! Zuko's here for the Display of Creation!" Ursa exclaimed. Katara trudged to the window. Zuko had to do bending displays every day of the week for her. Each of which had a ridiculously overblown name. The first had been the Display of Power, in which he'd used his bending to turn targets in the courtyard to nothing but ashes. Apparently it was bad luck if he took more than one shot to do this. It lasted for an hour. The second day was the Display of Discipline. Zuko had had to use his bending to set very specific things on fire. For two hours. The third day had been the Display of Artistry. That had been actually interesting to watch, since he had run through katas for an hour, not destroying anything for a change, just kind of dancing with the fire. The fourth day he did the Display of Fortitude. In which he had basically stood there for three hours, aiming the largest gout of flame she'd ever seen him produce straight up into the air until he pretty much passed out. The day before had been the Display of Combat, in which he'd had an all-out spar with a dozen benders. That had been interesting, but irritating, since she'd been caught sneaking out to spar with him and was dragged back to the balcony to watch instead.

Now he was out in the courtyard, creating images of animals in fire. Dragon-hawks circled through the air, then transformed into eelhounds. He let those dissipate and a long streamer of fire issued from his palms, and as he moved it transformed into the unagi at Kyoshi Island. Zuko pulled his hands apart and the sea monster split into two halves which became dragons, twisting and circling each other.

It was beautiful.

The display continued until finally Ursa murmured, "This will be the last one." The flames in the air coalesced into a giant ball, which changed shape slowly until . . .

"Appa!" Katara shouted in delight. She saw Zuko grin at her and start to manipulate the flaming sky bison. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ursa becoming more and more perplexed-looking as Appa at first flew, then began to twirl in the air, before finally starting a complex dance that involved all six of his feet.

She kept everything in until Zuko formally bowed and left. Then she sank to the floor, shrieking with laughter. Her husband was an unbelievable dork.

His mother looked baffled.

The next day, Katara was woken at a time of morning so heinous, it shouldn't have been allowed to exist. She was formally bathed by a coterie of maids before preparing for the wedding. First they did her hair. Involved in all this was Bato's mother, who had, by some convoluted process, claimed Katara as a daughter-in-law and had insisted on being part of things. The Fire Nation involved something called a 'Good Luck Woman' in their weddings, and Akaya had insisted on taking the role. She had an enormous scroll of good luck prayers she was supposed to say at each stage of preparation.

So as the maids brushed out her hair, there was a prayer. With each hank they separated out and smoothed into a separate piece, there was a prayer. As each piece was entwined with ribbons, there was a prayer. As those beribboned sections had cherry blossoms and fire lilies twined into it, there was a prayer. By the time they were finished with her hair and the words of luck Akaya had to say, it was two hours past sunrise.

Then they did her face paint. There was lotion and paste and powder and colour and paints for every section of her face, and before the many layers, things were plucked and massaged and exfoliated and Katara was beginning to wonder if the paint was there because her face was going to be so scraped and bruised from the rough handling that it would need the concealment. Finally they finished putting the paint on, and brought out the dress.

Like everything else in the Fire Nation it was red, and tight. Very tight. "A man invented these things," Katara grumbled. "It had to be."

Once she was in the dress, she couldn't walk. Then they gave her a silly little veil and had her kneel in front of an altar at which she was supposed to pray to her ancestors. Katara didn't know why she was supposed to do that, considering that they were all supposed to be happily enjoying their afterlife in the spirit world, but she just sighed and knelt. Bored.

Bored.

Boredboredbored.

That was when Suki came over. "Hey," she whispered, so as not to draw the hovering attention of the various maids who were trying to convince Katara to be 'proper'.

"Hey," Katara whispered back. "If you get me in trouble with Lian, there, I'll never forgive you."

"I brought a knife," Suki told her. "If we time it right, I think we can take apart the seams enough for you to walk like a person instead of a penguin and it'll be too late for the maids to do anything."

Indeed, it took them the better part of an hour and all of Suki's skills of subterfuge to finish the job without anyone noticing. They were done just in time for an incredible racket to approach the house. Her father came down the stairs, looking stunned. "I know he said there would be noisemakers, but this is ridiculous," he said. "Are you ready Katara?"

Katara smiled at him. "I'm ready to stop having to get married to my husband over and over."

Then there were three loud thuds on the door that could, theoretically, be called knocks. Hakoda strode to the door and opened it, allowing even more of the incessant and overblown noise into the house. Sokka and Suki were both failing to muffle laughter, while Toph looked incredibly irate. Aang hadn't been able to make this wedding since he had a treaty to help negotiate in the Earth Kingdom, and Katara was slightly grateful given Aang's tendencies to cheer. She was getting too much of a headache to be cheered right then.

"Everybody be quiet or I'm burying you all!" Toph shouted over the noise. A minor earthquake accompanied the threat and most of the crowd took her seriously. One idiot kept hooting and waving some sort of clacking noisemaker in the air. Toph was as good as her word.

"Thank you," Hakoda told her. Then he turned to Zuko and just waited. He was aiming the look Katara and Sokka had privately named the, I'm-going-to-disembowel-you-if-I-disapprove-for-an-instant, look. Zuko looked petrified. After a really long pause, Katara cleared her throat, and when her father looked at her, she shot him a glare. Seriously. She and Zuko were already married, what was his problem? This was closing the barn door after the ostrich horse had run away, hopped a ship to another continent and started a wild colony.

When he caught sight of her rolling eyes, Hakoda sighed and recited the first line of the Fire Nation ritual. "Fire Lord Zuko, why are you here?"

"And do you have to be so loud about it?" muttered Toph. "I can't hear a damn thing for the idiots outside."

From behind Zuko, Bato muffled a snort of laughter and was promptly elbowed by his wife. Zuko just rolled his eyes and replied, "I have come, Chief Hakoda, to request your daughter's hand in marriage and to join me as my consort and Fire Lady."

"Again," Bato mumbled.

"No kidding," Sokka grumbled. "Ow!" Akaya had hit him and shot a threatening look at her son. Bato looked suitably cowed. Kanna began a muttered conversation that seemed to be on the topic of How to Cow Men With One Simple Look of Death.

Katara wished she could get in on that. Her Looks of Death were losing impact.

Meanwhile, Hakoda had asked what Zuko could do to prove he deserved to marry Katara. Zuko had promptly waved a hand and started a stream of servants coming into the house to deposit various items of value on every available surface. Suddenly, Iroh, who had been making himself part of the background until then spoke up. "Is that my monkey?" he asked as the ugliest statue of a monkey Katara had ever seen was carried in.

Zuko leaned forward and muttered to Hakoda, "I'd take it as a personal favour if you'd toss that thing overboard once you're at sea. Uncle's got a very disturbing attachment to that thing."

"You have given away my monkey?" Iroh demanded. "But it was perfect in its place in the palace front hall."

Zuko slipped her father a small sack of coins. "Payment for services to be rendered," he said.

"Wow," Suki said, "I think its eyes follow you when you move around."

Sokka joined her and the pair of them walked back and forth commenting on the phenomenon.

Katara sighed. Here she was, stuck in front of this stupid altar, waiting for them to get on with things. Finally they did. "I accept these gifts, Fire Lord. I grant my permission for you to take my daughter to your home, to become your wife, Consort and Fire Lady."

Finally she could stand and head out. In all the . . . excitement, Katara had forgotten about her and Suki's bout of tailoring. There were several shocked gasps behind her, and a thud. Katara turned around, and saw that the maids were all in various states of undeniable horror, and one of them had even fainted. Katara shook her head and headed out to where a palanquin awaited her.

Zuko looked quite handsome, but for his gaping jaw. "Katara," he said. "Your dress, what happened?"

"A knife," she said, grinning at him. Then, as she got onto the conveyance, she deliberately let the side closest to her husband, the dress now had an enormous slit up to the thigh on both sides, show off her legs. She felt her grin get wider as Zuko's eyes darkened in a way that promised a lot of fun later that evening.

Then they all trekked off, Katara listening to the incredibly noisy procession as they made their way through the city by the longest possible route. It was more than two hours later when they finally got to the palace. Her arm hurt from the abbreviated waving she'd had to do the whole time, while her face felt stiff and unused from the emotionless mask she was supposed to have maintained for the whole procession.

She ignored the helping hands of soldiers there to get her out of the palanquin, the gasps of shock from the courtiers watching and strode to the palace complex gate. "What happened to your dress?" Zuko demanded again.

"I did some tailoring," Katara told him. "I want to walk places, not hobble leaning on some 'big strong' firebender like some sort of delicate flower."

Her glared sideways at her, which was a little impressive, and said, "That dress was designed by the greatest dressmaker in the whole of the Fire Islands."

"It's a very pretty hobble," she said sharply.

"Well," he said contemplatively, "At least I can fulfil my dream of making love to you while you're wearing a proper wedding dress." He grinned. "It looks like your legs will go wherever I need them too."

She hit him.

Then Bato, looking incredibly nervous, spoke, challenging Katara with the first stage of this round of ritual, to prove she was worthy to be Zuko's wife.

"Isn't my Bato handsome?" gushed Akaya. Ursa, having let her husband and brother-in-law take this first stage without her, said, "I know, just like my little Zuko."

Katara couldn't help but snicker at the look on Zuko's face when he heard that. They trekked through the courtyard, listening to Sokka whine about how hungry he was.

While Ursa and Bato challenged Katara's right to be Zuko's consort, Toph had snuck around behind Katara and was leaning in very close. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Do you know you have fruit in your hair?" Toph asked.

She glanced over and then said, "Yeah, why?" Then, "Ow!"

Zuko whipped around. "Katara, are you okay?"

The hellion of an earthbender was already feeding Sokka Katara's hair decorations, telling him that since roses were edible, he could eat those too. "My hair!" Katara gasped. "Toph!"

"Sokka's stopped complaining, right?" Toph told her.

The third challenge and they finally arrived at the inner sanctum. They bowed, Katara said a quick prayer to her mother, made tea for each other's families and Hakoda broke the solemn moment of the ceremony by saying, "Zuko, son, don't give up your day job."

After that, everything was a blur of getting crowned, people cheering and Sokka leaving fast enough to give Aang a run for his money as he headed for the food, followed almost as quickly by a grumpy Toph. The reception that followed was lavish, joyous and Katara felt kind enough even to not kill her earthbending friend for taking her hair from a work of art to a lopsided jumble.

Much later that evening, she and Zuko were finally alone together. Married, hopefully, for the last time.

Zuko was looking handsome and lordly in his formal wear as he sat on the edge of the bed. Katara stepped in-between his legs, smiling at the thought that there was no way _anyone_ could possibly say they weren't married now. "So," said her handsome husband, rather huskily, "What do you think about renewing our vows in a years' time. We could make it an annual-"

She tackled her jerk of a spouse to the bed and tried to pummel him with cushions.


End file.
